OUR VIEW: Addressing the scourge of overdoses

It’s a quiet killer that’s invited in by those it stalks. Drug overdoses from both illicit and prescription drugs are a problem afflicting men and women. But nationwide and locally, increasing numbers of women have been dying from drug ODs over the past decade.

The Herald News, Fall River, MA

Writer

Posted Aug. 26, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 26, 2013 at 2:50 AM

Posted Aug. 26, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 26, 2013 at 2:50 AM

» Social News

It’s a quiet killer that’s invited in by those it stalks. Drug overdoses from both illicit and prescription drugs are a problem afflicting men and women. But nationwide and locally, increasing numbers of women have been dying from drug ODs over the past decade.

In 2010, nationwide, women made 943,365 visits to emergency rooms as a result of drug misuse and abuse. In 2010, more women died of ODs than motor vehicle accidents. Four times as many women died from drug overdoses than homicide.

Locally, Fall River’s two hospitals report slightly more women than men treated at their emergency rooms for overdoses. In 2012, 257 women were treated for ODs at Charlton Memorial Hospital and Saint Anne’s and 235 men. So far, in 2013, 218 women have been treated for overdoses, while 193 men have been seen at the two Fall River hospitals.

Local hospitals report that while some overdoses are responsible for deaths, others get medical attention before it is too late. But overdoses are also responsible for busier emergency rooms and expensive hospital treatment if they do make it in time. Symptoms can range from nausea to cardiac arrest to organ failure.

Some of the drugs responsible for overdoses are commonly prescribed, like Xanax and drugs in the benzodiazepine class for treating anxiety and seizures. Many others overdose on oxycodone. Opiates can also lead some who have become addicted to seek heroin, which is sadly in no short supply in our area. Heroin, similar to oft-prescribed medications like Vicodin, Demerol or Percocet, is often seen as an easier-to-obtain alternative. Meanwhile, eastern Massachusetts leads the nation in the number of drug-related emergency room visits involving heroin and other opiates

It’s not just a problem afflicting young people experimenting with drugs. The Centers for Disease control found that drug overdose deaths are highest among those aged 45 to 54. While some take their own prescribed drugs, others may take those prescribed to relatives or friends, or otherwise obtained.

Unfortunately, health insurance policies, combined with the desire of patients to get a quick fix for their ailments, can enable addiction. “Health insurance is more likely to pay for prescriptions than to pay for extensive physical therapy or alternative treatments like acupuncture, which has been proven to work but often are more expensive,” said Barbara Herbert, chief of addiction services at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Brighton. “I see a number of people who come through our program who have slid from using medication often because of an injury, or because of a good, real reason, to using it because it gives them the energy to do their housework or lets them finish working extra hours at their jobs, to not being able to afford it anymore, to using heroin.”

This is not just a nationwide tragedy, but a community problem that requires a community response. Fortunately, our area does have treatment centers that may be able to help wean addicts off of prescription and illicit drugs, which sometimes can go hand-in-hand.

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It’s also important for people to use their medications only as prescribed, avoid taking highly addictive medications if other means of pain relief and depression treatment are available, keep medications secure, and dispose of them properly so they cannot be taken by others. Families and friends can play a key role in saving people who may have become addicted to drugs by intervening before it is too late and they end up in the hospital or in the ground.